Chapter 246 - Revolution

Naofumi: “And like that, Itsuki’s out of the picture. Just in case, we should check out the castle town too.”

Firo: “Firo is sleepy.”

Gaelion: “Kyuaa…”

The monsters yawn drowsily.

Atlas: “It’s definitely late, but this is the time where we should be working hard!”

Though Atlas gave such a declaration, Firo and the others continuously relay their fatigue.

They’ve been constantly fighting for a while, and it’s long past bed time.

Naofumi: “Don’t worry about it. Everyone gather here.”

Let’s see. I think the maximum for the Portal Shield was 7 people… but if I think about it, Ren has his Transfer Sword as well, so we can move even more.

It may be best to check the castle before returning home…

Naofumi: “Ren, can you teleport to the castle town?”

Ren: “No.”

Well, he is supposed to be under house arrest at my place. It’s only recently that I gave him the right to move around freely.

And the only ones who can undo the brainwashing are me and Rishia. What should we do?

Naofumi: “We also need someone to look over Itsuki. Rishia, you’re one of the keys to resolving this incident, so I have to put you to work.”

Rishia: “Fue…”

Naofumi: “Just think of it as for Itsuki’s sake.”

Rishia: “I know.”

Naofumi: “Now then, for now… Let’s go to the Castle Town. Witch is probably there.”

Ren: “Naofumi, want me to look after Itsuki?”

Ren volunteers for the job.

I guess that’s not a bad idea.

The Castle Town has Motoyasu, so they should be okay to some extent.

Instead of keeping all of the Heroes in one place, it’s probably best for me to leave one here.

That means, including me, I need seven, so… Me, Atlas, Firo, Rishia, Gaelion, and Taniko?

The Filo Rials we used to get here should stay to help hold down Itsuki when he gets up.

They haven’t class-upped yet, so their levels are stuck in the 30s though.

It’s best not to move him around too much… But taking him with us seems dangerous.

I want to leave some people who can block teleportation with him as well.

Naofumi: “Then Ren, Gaelion, and Taniko will be turning Itsuki in with the Three Hero Church remnants.”

Ren: “Got it.”

Gaelion: “KYUA!”

Taniko: “We just have to take these people to the village, right?”

Naofumi: “Yeah. Ren has a transfer skill, so you should be fine. Now the people left are…”

The Filo Rials’ eyes are shining. They’re signaling for me to choose them.

It’s good that they’re motivated, but don’t stare at me like that.

Naofumi: “You all…”

Filo Rials: “KUE!”

They cry out happily.

For the love of…

Naofumi: “I guess it should work out fine.”

Ren: “Yeah…”

And like that, Ren and I divide into two groups and activate our transfer skills.

The point I teleport to in Melromark’s Castle Town is the same one I always use.

The space I set is inside of the Castle, so that works out perfectly.

But as always, this spot reeks of dust.

I peer out of the door from the room I appeared in and check the situation.

I hear the sound of multiple footsteps scampering all around the place.

“Bring down the Evil Queen who discriminates against her own people!”

Words like that echo through the hallways.

So they are here as well.

Naofumi: “Atlas and Rishia, can you feel anything?”

I let Rishia look outside.

Rishia: “Yes, there is some negative aura coming from that direction.”

Atlas: “Right.”

Yeah, as I thought.

Atlas: “Ah, right, Naofumi-sama?”

Naofumi: “What is it?”

Atlas: “The nature of the dark Chi seems to have changed.”

Naofumi: “Changed? What do you mean?”

Atlas: “How should I put this? Since Rishia defeated that person, it seems to be losing a sense of order.”

Naofumi: “I see.”

I think Itsuki called it the Justice Bow or something.

That bow had some sort of controlling effect.

I don’t really know what changed. We’ll have to find out through battle.

Naofumi: “Alright, Rishia. You go around dispelling brainwashing with that weapon.”

Rishia: “Okay.”

As I issued those orders, I throw open the door and run out.

“W-who are you!?”

A group of eight soldiers with strange eyes turn towards us and get into battle formation.

Rishia: “Tei!”

But before they can do anything, Rishia throws her chakram, and they circle each soldier individually.

Long range projectiles sure are nice.

I can only take attacks and counter to some extent.

My weapon is supposed to be a defensive armament. It has a good affinity with long range magic and weapons.

Soldiers: “Gaha…”

As if they were marionettes who had had their strings cut, the soldiers all fall to the ground. But they get up soon after.

Soldier: “What? Where… is this?”

Naofumi: “Are you up yet?”

Soldier: “The Hero of the Shield…”

Naofumi: “Are you guys part of the Three Hero Church?”

Soldier: “N-no… but for you to be an ally is… a bit…”

There are still quite a few soldiers who hate me.

But, work being work, they do follow the Queen’s orders without complaint. That doesn’t change their opinion of me, though.

But, it’s not something I have to worry about. I don’t really care what they think.

The soldiers are avoiding eye contact as they speak.

Naofumi: “Did something happen? What’s the situation?”

Soldier: “My consciousness was vague…”

Naofumi: “Just tell me what you know. Speak already.”

Soldier: “Yes.”

The soldiers’ story went as such.

This evening, various groups rose up and started a revolution.

They called for the death of the Discriminatory Queen.

The soldiers rushed out to suppress this rebellion.

But after a while, the soldiers that were supposed to suppress the enemy forces ended up joining them, and the situation got out of hand.

And, by the time the sun had set, the rebellious faction succeeded in occupying part of the city, and various nobles began supporting them.

That’s around the time we began our plan.

The representative of the Rebellious Faction was Witch.

Quite a few people had anticipated that the nobles would rise up in protest at some point. A few people even tried to instigate them to get rid of those nobles. But they never thought it would escalate to this level.

I can’t really say anything here.

Well, you know… If I had the ability to predict that they would invent a weapon with brainwashing powers to try and usurp the country’s royalty, I would be a prophet by now.

They do have the Shadow information system, but I guess they never managed to dig as far as the rebels’ scientific research projects.

I didn’t expect those at all until I encountered them myself.

And, unless a random passerby casually took a stab at you, you wouldn’t realize they were brainwashed.

And, more than anything else, the existence of a weapon with such abilities would usually be denied by the general public.

Even if it were to be reported, there’s a high chance the report would not be taken seriously.

But that doesn’t matter for now. I can ask all the questions I want later.

The Shadows work as this country’s secret spy service, but it’s not good to rely on them too much.

Their numbers seem to have dropped during the Spirit Turtle incident, so there’s no helping it.

And, if I think about it, there are some shadows in the Three Hero Church as well.

Could members like that still be running rampant in their ranks?

They’re not just limited to working in this country, so they’re definitely short on personnel.

… Since the start of this incident, I haven’t seen a single one. They may be doing something important.

Naofumi: “And? Why are you walking around brainwashed here?”

Soldier: “That is… When we were trying to evacuate people… A person began attacking from within our midst and… I can’t remember anything else.”

So it was a Zombie Outbreak after that.

When even a single infected person gets in, a safe building becomes a prison with no escape.

In hindsight, I’d say that their organization was bad.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, only criminals would be able to immediately assume that their allies were suddenly brainwashed.

Even though Melty told tales of the brainwashing Demon Lord, stories are stories. Jumping to a conclusion based on them is a tad bit hasty.

Even if I remembered the tale, I’d collect a bit more information first.

In that situation, perhaps the best course of action would to be to hold down the fort and wait for reinforcements.

At least at this point in time.

Or perhaps there is meaning in holding down the fort in itself.

Causing this incident… probably isn’t their final goal.

Even if the Revolutionary faction gets taken out, various problems will remain and outside countries will take advantage of those.

Even if the Queen were only pretending to be my ally, based on her position, she wouldn’t take such risks.

I don’t have enough information. I need to gather some more.

Naofumi: “Then Witch is waiting for you guys to open up the castle?”

Soldier: “Unfortunately…”

I have no idea what state the castle is in. I guess I have no choice but to drag these guys along.

Looking at it from a different perspective, the fact that we… The fact that Rishia is here means that we’re able to destroy the foundations of their plan.

If we keep dispelling the brainwashing, their forces will be lower than expected.

Naofumi: “Okay. First, we’ll need a full grasp of the situation. We’ll need to confirm the Queen’s safety.”

Soldier: “Yes!”

Naofumi: “Do you know where she is?”

Soldier: “I think she’s holed up at the top of the castle.”

Naofumi: “Then we’ll head there.”

Taking the soldiers with us, we head towards the Queen.